A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck in the south Atlantic ocean 314 kilometers (195 miles) southeast of Stanley, the main city on the Falkland Islands, the US Geological Survey said early Monday.

The quake struck at 0627 GMT at a depth of 10 kilometers in the lightly populated area, the USGS said. The epicenter was also 877 kilometers east of Ushuaia, Argentina, the USGS said.